Comparison: MGXO Bottling, Old v. New

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Capn Jimbo
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Comparison: MGXO Bottling, Old v. New

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Has MGXO changed? Yes, and you know why...


As some may know, MGXO was one of the very first rums we bought, and was my personal introduction to rum. A lucky choice that we've never regreted. I'll never forget when Mount Gay tossed out over 300 years of tradition and allowed their marketing assholes to convince them to convert to the new bottle design.

We were not alone in taking offense.

It was clear to me that this ploy was a prelude to a price increase and it was. While the old and classic bottle sold for little more than $30, the new design came out at close to $50, a huge increase. This outrageous gamble failed. In not much time, the prices were forced back into the mid $30's - currently as low as $30 - not to mention the attendant loss of face and tradition. Fools, and now they were stuck with this failed design. Still, we continued to buy MGXO for some years, when recently and to my great pleasure, I realized that I still had a 2/3 full bottle of the old bottling, circa 2008. With the recent USVI special subsidies in mind, the natural question was...


Has MGXO changed? And if so, for the better?

I'll keep it simple. Yes and no. Today, Sue Sea and I spent a good hour or two doing a good comparision of a current, 2013 bottling with my rare 2008 bottling. Here's our mutual opinions:


Appearance

The color and clairity were indistinguishable, but the old bottling demonstrates a thicker, more obvious green edge of age of an older rum.


Nose

New bottling: Although both bottlings are similar, the new bottling (2013) is lighter and tends to feature the orangey/vanillan, and a lighter orange marmalade.

Old: Was definitely more intense and noticeably deeper and richer, seemed more "baked", hotter and the spice and leather was more forward. Raisin and a nice tar are evident.


Palate

The comparative palates confirmed the aromas:

New: again lighter, and more dominated by orange rind or zest, more bourbon-like.

Old: hotter and more spicy, with a more definite white pepper, clove and even jalapeno heat. More forward, richer and baked.


In sum there was a distinguishable difference between the old and current bottling. Although Mount Gay has not included a clear age statement on MGXO, the XO has been known to be a blend of rums aged from 10 to 17 years. Has the blend changed? Let's first consider what Sue Sea had to say:
"To me the difference is very simple. It's like making two pies, one that has been constructed but not yet baked, and another of the same ingredients but that has been fully baked, fresh out of the oven, still warm, aromatic and to which you add a scoop of real French vanilla ice cream."
I would have to honestly say that the old bottling has more of the older aged components that make it deeper, spicier, richer and warm. I have no doubt that our dear MGXO has been altered, and not for the best.


Related Comparison...

It was quite expected that our Seales Ten was brought out, and which compared quite favorably with the lighter new bottling of MGXO, although the blending of older rums in the XO was evident in a bit more complexity and the well known black banana of Mount Gay.

The next bottle to come out was an old favorite, the Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 Solera. With our new knowledge of their unlabeled, added prune and vanilla, we now noted the presence of these additives, particularly in comparison to the known purity of Seales Ten.

All in all, Seales Ten remains perhaps the best rum with which new drinkers should become familiar. By doing so one can become familiar with what a pure and unadulterated rum should taste like. JaRiMi has repeatedly posted regarding the trend to emasculate good rums by altering the blends.

Of this practice, Mount Gay Extra Old is Exhibit A! Damn.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

The big picture...


In the last few months we inadvertantly became aware of several changes at Mount Gay. First, that the Eclipse Black - really a terrific value at 100 proof, 4 to 7 years and $19 for a full liter! - was, dammit, discontinued. Its replacement: Black Barrel - at a lesser 80 proof, with no age statement, at a much higher price - $29! - for less rum, just 750 ml. If you think it can't possibly get any worse, taste wise the Black Barrel simply doesn't stand up to the notably better Eclipse Black.

That this all occured in conjunction with the beginning of the USVI subsidized attack on Caribbean rum is no surprise. And now the comparison of the old vs new bottling of MGXO shows more cheapening of the product.

It was JaRiMi who has more than once noted that what is happening with most blended spirits is that once fine and well aged products like MGXO - long a respected blend of 10 to 17 year old rums, now has more of the younger and less of the older in the blend. The good stuff is now reserved for the super-premium 1703 for the 1 percenters and their wannabees.

Think about it this way. The USVI subsidies force Caribbean competitors to sell more product, which depletes aged stores, which are stretched by cheapening mid-range products, which are sold at higher prices, and...

We're Extra Facked...
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Post by NCyankee »

Awww man, I didn't know they had discontinued the Black - luckily I have another bottle stashed in my cellar. I've only seen 750 ml bottles, and the price here was $20 on sale, $25 regular.

I see that Total Wine in Atlanta still stocks it, but at a price of $32. They also raised their price on MGXO from $35 to $43, luckly I recently had my friend grab me one at the lower price.

Edit - happy day, I found a place in NY that had 4 bottles left - at only $16.99! They also had a 10% discount for ordering a case, very reasonable shipping ($27 for a case), and good prices on several other things, so no problem filling up a case.

One I decided to try was Brinley's lime for $16.19 after 10% off. ED 12 $26, ED 15 $34, ED 5 $17 (no 10% discount). Nice haul.




*******
Capn's Log: Make sure its the Eclipse Black you buy, and not the Black Barrel. The more we taste the Black Barrel the less we like it.
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Post by Dai »

ED 12 $26, ED 15 $34
Good prices. The best I've ever had on ED15 was £30 in Aldi they were doing a Christmas special.
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Post by sailor22 »

Compared the new XO and an older XO I have had open a couple of years. The older stuff may be a shade better but I don't feel we are loosing much with the new label of this one.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Sailor...


The two we were comparing was a 2013 bottling (new style bottle) with a very old design, classic bottle (no later than 2008, probably 2006 or 2007). The differences were notable, as stated. What years/bottle styles were you comparing?
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Post by sailor22 »

Can't find a date on the bottle but I have had it (and it's been open) for more than 4 years. It's a different shape bottle and a different paper label. There is only about an inch of juice left and it's been mostly empty for awhile now. For those reasons I would expect it's lost a little off it's fast ball and that could account for the similarity I found.
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Post by 19Jamie76 »

Which old bottling of the Extra Old are you comparing? I have a bottle of the Extra Old that is round. I also have a bottling of the Extra Old with a newer bottling design that looks akin to the 1703 bottle. I think this design came out around 2009 or so. There is also the new bottle with the new design that shows a XO on it which I have stayed away from.

So which bottle do you have? Also, is there a difference in the rum between the older bottlings?
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Just speaking personally, I'm reasonably sure that any of the traditional style "round" bottles are notably older than the new flattened style institutes by a desperate marketing department.

Per JaRiMi and myself, we both feel VERY strongly that MG has altered the MGXO blend, saving the really good stuff for the 1703. This is now common among rums. Cheapen the actual rum, but at the same time "premiiumize" them with expensive bottles, labeling and promotion.

Ripoff.
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Post by Hassouni »

Capn Jimbo wrote:Just speaking personally, I'm reasonably sure that any of the traditional style "round" bottles are notably older than the new flattened style institutes by a desperate marketing department.

Per JaRiMi and myself, we both feel VERY strongly that MG has altered the MGXO blend, saving the really good stuff for the 1703. This is now common among rums. Cheapen the actual rum, but at the same time "premiiumize" them with expensive bottles, labeling and promotion.

Ripoff.
That said, the 1703 is pretty magical, and is about what you'd pay for an indie bottled Bajan rum of the same character. (though obv Seale throws a wrench in the whole thing)
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Post by 19Jamie76 »

Picked up one of the last Extra Old bottles left on the shelf at Total Wine before they switch over to the "XO" bottles. I should have pulled the trigger and picked up both, but with a little luck it will still be there when I go back.

I understand Total Wine is like a "big box store", but I really wish educating the staff would be a priority. I had a circular conversation with one of the staff regarding the difference in the Extra Old and the XO. "It's the same stuff." I was inquiring if the two bottles of Extra Old were the only bottles available. I sorta wanted to buy a case if it was possible. Of course they had cases available...just that those were the XO.

So after a frustrating conversation, I took one of the bottles and went on my way. Of course said staff had to go get in to her little group of staff friends and snicker about it.
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Post by mamajuana »

In surprising news there were about 4 dozen bottles of the bottling prior to the new XO box bottling within the last month at a liquor supermarket here. Today I went and there were 4 left with the boxes with the golden XO behind them. People really must be noticing a difference to buyout stocks of the older bottles at 49.99.

I'm just glad I found some older bottles at a smaller store months ago for around 30.00 per bottle and bought them all.

The main thing that is the same is the color you can't detect any difference there.
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Post by 19Jamie76 »

What was the release date of the "New" XO bottling? I seem to recall the Black Barrel hitting the shelves in 2012 or maybe 2013? I am assuming the XO came out around the same time.

Mount Gay's website states that their XO is a blend of 8 to 15 year old rums. Sure would be interesting to know what those ratios are.
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Post by mamajuana »

19Jamie76 wrote:What was the release date of the "New" XO bottling? I seem to recall the Black Barrel hitting the shelves in 2012 or maybe 2013? I am assuming the XO came out around the same time.

Mount Gay's website states that their XO is a blend of 8 to 15 year old rums. Sure would be interesting to know what those ratios are.
It hit a while after black barrel. First time I recall seeing this and buying it is early 2015 or very late 2014. I don't recall clearly the date but it was far after black barrel that I know.

edit**correction

I bought the new XO bottle Aug 2014.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

For what it's worth...


Jamie's post intrigued me, and caused me to remember how upset I was with the bottle change and the first appearance of the marketing monkeys brazen goal of ruining over 300 years of tradition. And when was that?

The "new" bottle (and the gods only know the beginning of the tweaking began in... 2009.

http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtop ... light=mgxo
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